Chapter 04: Marksmanship

"Sesshoumaru," she greeted, her voice terse as she lowered her bow. He still found it odd how familiar she was with his personage; but then, she had always been odd to begin with.

"Miko," he acknowledged.

Hesitating only for a moment, the miko brushed stray tears from her flushed cheeks and inclined her head towards him, then went to recover her arrows from the unfortunate tree across the clearing she had been using as her practice target. Sesshoumaru noted that they all marked the trunk within a hand's breadth of each other, one actually splitting another's shaft neatly down the middle.

"Your archery skills have improved," he observed. Indeed, her aim had drastically improved since her return, as well as her control over her immense powers. She was becoming more formidable as she matured. Dislodging the arrow that had been meant as a warning for him, he walked over to her and dropped it into her waiting hands.